New Battery

[McDaddy]

I have a 2006 Cherokee 28A+ (two slides) and I am ready to replace the battery which has served me well for the past 8 years. Are there any battery experts out there that can give me a quick education on RV batteries? I see different batteries that are listed as 100AH or 200 AH or 100CCA. I believe that AH means Amp Hours and that CCA is Cold Cranking Amps. I know that Cold Cranking Amps are important when starting my car, but not sure how they apply to my camper. I do almost 100% of my camping in campgrounds where I have shore power and really only need the battery to operate my power jack and to serve as power to apply the camper brakes should it separate from the TV in an emergency. Any recommendations would be appreciated. thanks

[chubbuch]

First question to ask is do you ever use TT when not on shore power. If not then you could go with a small powersport battery ( think motorcycle). This would activate your electric brakes and run 12 volt on trailer for short period. Advantage is weight, dramatically lighter.
If you are boondocking then you will need a deep cycle. Group 24, 27 or 31, bigger is better. Deep cycle is designed for deeper discharge before recharging due to the design of the lead plates and the lead oxide formulation.
AGM (absorbed glass mat) is the latest technology and provides better RC (reserve capacity) but cost more than a flooded battery.
Most batteries are made by East Penn and JCI in the US and they are similar in performance. Trojan, Superior, Crown and a few others also make golf cart and deep cycle for commercial use.
Overall best battery is made by EnerSys sold as DieHard Platinum and Odyssey. Great power and will last a very long time.
Going 6 volt vs. 12 v will extend run time but simply because you are doubling the about of lead. Two 12 volts would give you even more at roughly same weight.
For what it is worth I run a major battery brand in the US so know a little about this stuff.

[arizal]

If you got 8 years out of your present battery and it provides all the power you need, I would replace it with a new version of the battery you are replacing. Having said all that, I love my Interstate AGMs because when I opened the battery box after 2 years of use all I had to do is blow the dust off of them.
Happy camping,

ArizAl

[Lowsuv]

as suggested you can go with any group 24 or group 27 battery .
I disconnect my RV batteries after every trip so that they maintain their charge .
If you are feeling flush you might consider an AGM construction battery .
Do a Wikipedia for AGM to learn the advantages of the AGM construction battery .
I have gone to Exide EDGE AGM batteries over time in my cars, truck, TT , and boat .
In Oregon I have picked up the exide EDGE AGM batteries for $140 each at BiMart .
That is a cheap price for an AGM battery made in the USA .
With conventional lead acid batteries I did the annual routine clean up with baking soda and a toothbrush .
With the AGM , which do not leak , I do not have that chore anymore .
An EDGE AGM recharges faster than conventional , will not make an acid mess , in your battery tray , and will take more abuse from serious discharge episodes .
The car / truck EDGE is a 100 % replacement guarantee for 48 months .

[pianotuna]

Hi,

I'd vote for a sealed agm battery. It will cost more but will free you from routine maintenance.

[DavidP]

I agree a basic group 24 deep cycle is all you need. I like Interstate but like others have said any group 24 RV/Marine deep cycle will do.

[sclark]

For your needs, I would recommend the cheapest group 24 battery you can find. No need to spend big money for amp hour capacity that you will not use. Good luck.

[Jamm3r]

McDaddy wrote:
I have a 2006 Cherokee 28A+ (two slides) and I am ready to replace the battery which has served me well for the past 8 years.

It's time

Are there any battery experts out there that can give me a quick education on RV batteries? I see different batteries that are listed as 100AH or 200 AH or 100CCA. I believe that AH means Amp Hours and that CCA is Cold Cranking Amps. I know that Cold Cranking Amps are important when starting my car, but not sure how they apply to my camper.

Find a battery that has an amp hour rating. A few of those will have a cca rating as well, which doesn't hurt anything I guess.

What you want to do is find a true deep cycle battery that will fit the space. True deep cycle batteries will have an amp hour rating. The "dual purpose" and "marine starting" batteries will not.

Measure the battery you have now and get the same size or something that will fit the space. Most rigs use either a group 24 or group 27 battery.

I do almost 100% of my camping in campgrounds where I have shore power and really only need the battery to operate my power jack and to serve as power to apply the camper brakes should it separate from the TV in an emergency. Any recommendations would be appreciated. thanks

Any battery that will fit will work for that.

[beemerphile1]

McDaddy wrote:
...I do almost 100% of my camping in campgrounds where I have shore power and really only need the battery to operate my power jack and to serve as power to apply the camper brakes should it separate from the TV in an emergency. Any recommendations would be appreciated. thanks

For your use the basic group 24 RV/marine battery will do fine.

[rbpru]

Interesting subject. The few time we were without shore power we had no difficulties but we only ran a few lights and an hour of so of TV news and weather.

I am sure other have a lot of knowledge of battery life.

[love2tow]

I have been doing a ton of research on batteries for RV's lately. If I'm understanding the information correctly, you should be looking for a simple marine or deep cycle 12 volt battery. You can find one of these at WalMart, Costco, Sams, etc... If you wanted to power your unit off the batteries for an extended amount of time, you would need to do a little more homework. Also, from what I have learned, you want to stay away from typical starting batteries used in cars. They are usually measured in cold cranking amps. They put more power out initially but don't hold a charge as long.
If you are interested in more information, I have many stored links that could help you 🙂 I get a bit obsessive when learning new things

I can't seem to post a link properly. Here is a URL that can help.

www.solar-electric.com/deep-cycle-battery-faq.html

[dalenoel]

McDaddy you are not the only one with that question. There is a tradeoff when you consider cost to longevity. At what point do you decide to just buy another battery when one wears out instead of buying an expensive one when not using it to the fullest.

I'll wait for the answers also.